What are the legal penalties for felony theft of a motor vehicle and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile in Lo

Felony Motor Vehicle Theft Penalties

The Louisiana statute that covers stealing a car is Louisiana Revised Statutes § 14:67.26 [7]. Whether the crime is a felony depends on the vehicle’s value—theft of a motor vehicle worth $1,000 or more is a felony [8]. (If the vehicle is worth less than $1,000, it’s a misdemeanor with a maximum of six months in jail [2].)

The felony penalties are split into value‑based ranges, drawn from official statute language and other legal sources:

• $1,000 – $4,999: up to 5 years in prison (with or without hard labor), a fine of up to $3,000, or both [8].
• $5,000 – $24,999 (the range is implied, as the lower tier has its own lower maximum): up to 10 years in prison (with or without hard labor), a fine of up to $10,000, or both [3].
• $25,000 or more: up to 20 years in prison at hard labor [3] [7]. The same $25,000 threshold appears in the general theft statute as well [1].

Note: “Hard labor” means serving the sentence in a state penitentiary instead of a parish jail. One source also points to a first‑offense penalty for auto theft of up to 2 years in prison and a $2,000 fine [10]—that may apply to a lower value tier or a different part of the law, but the value‑driven scheme above comes directly from the motor vehicle theft statute.

Contributing to Delinquency of a Juvenile Penalties

Louisiana has two related laws that punish contributing to a minor’s delinquency:

• La. R.S. § 14:92 (contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile): a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both [4] [5].
• La. R.S. § 14:92.1 (encouraging or contributing to child delinquency, dependency, or neglect): a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both [6] [9].

So the classic “contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile” charge carries up to six months in jail and a $500 fine; the companion statute lets the fine go up to $1,000 while keeping the same maximum jail time.